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Americans say the economy feels terrible—but they’re still booking vacations, renovating homes, and packing stores. Why is there such a disconnect between consumer confidence and consumer spending? On this episode of Payne Points of Wealth, Ryan Payne, Bob Payne, Chris Payne, and Courtney Garcia explore how rising household wealth, retiring baby boomers, and higher interest income may be helping keep spending strong—even as affordability remains a real challenge for many families. Plus, we discuss why interest rates are rising globally, how AI investment and manufacturing reshoring could support economic growth, and what the 2026 midterms could mean for stocks. Could falling oil prices and political gridlock set the stage for a year-end rally?

Barron’s reporter Jacob Sonenshine joins us for this episode of the Payne Points of Wealth to debate what’s driving Treasury yields higher, why stocks have remained resilient, and whether AI earnings expectations are becoming too optimistic. We explore opportunities in financials and medical devices, the risks behind the AI spending boom, and why owning the S&P 500 may leave your portfolio more concentrated than you realize. We discuss: Why tech stocks can rally even as Treasury yields rise How oil prices, inflation, and economic growth shape the outlook for interest rates The contrarian case for financials and medical device stocks Meta’s AI ambitions, competition, and the challenge of turning spending into profits How equal-weight investing can help reduce exposure to a handful of market giants Can the AI rally keep running? And how can you participate while building a portfolio that doesn’t depend on it?

Is AI creating an alternative energy boom? As data centers drive up electricity demand, the U.S. needs more power, a stronger grid, and faster ways to build both. Ryan and Chris Payne sit down with Chris Johnson, president of the American Energy Leadership Institute, to discuss why nuclear, geothermal, solar, batteries, and natural gas could all have a role in the AI buildout. They explore the push for permitting reform, the challenge of expanding transmission, competition with China, and where smaller power companies may find opportunities. The conversation also covers the outlook for oil prices amid the Iran conflict, the Strait of Hormuz, Venezuela’s potential oil supply, and why high diesel prices can ripple through the economy.

Markets are falling, the Federal Reserve is raising interest rates, the 10-year Treasury is near 5%, and inflation remains stubborn. Is this another short-term correction—or the beginning of a bear market? In this episode, we explain how investors can prepare without abandoning their long-term strategy. They discuss the strength of corporate earnings, why bear markets can create powerful opportunities, and how higher yields are changing the outlook for bonds and cash. In this episode: • The difference between a correction and a bear market • How rising rates affect stocks and bonds • Why economic growth and earnings remain resilient • The risks of owning bond funds in a volatile market • How a bond ladder can reduce interest-rate risk • Why your best long-term investments may begin during bear markets • Whether AI spending can continue supporting the economy

For more than a decade, investors were rewarded for following a simple playbook: favor U.S. stocks, lean heavily into technology, depend on low interest rates, and buy every dip. But the economic environment that made those strategies so successful has fundamentally changed. Ryan, Bob, and Chris Payne join Courtney Garcia to explain why stronger growth, persistent inflation, higher interest rates, and shifting market leadership require a different investment approach. They discuss why the S&P 500’s extraordinary returns may be difficult to repeat, why now could be the time to rebalance, and where investors may find better value in bonds, international markets, commodities, energy, and real estate. With September beginning in the red, oil above $90, interest rates climbing, and the national debt reaching $40 trillion, is the bull market approaching its end—or is the pullback creating another opportunity? The biggest risk may not be the next market decline. It may be relying on an investing playbook built for a world that no longer exists.

Interest rates are climbing, inflation remains stubborn, and America’s national debt has reached $40 trillion. Should investors be worried—or are rates simply returning to historical norms? In this episode of Payne Points of Wealth, Ryan Payne, Bob Payne, Chris Payne, and Courtney Garcia discuss what rising Treasury yields mean for stocks, bonds, mortgages, and the broader economy. They also examine the inflationary effects of tariffs, AI infrastructure spending, higher oil prices, federal deficits, and a weakening dollar. Plus, discover why market leadership is expanding beyond the Magnificent Seven—and where opportunities may be emerging in commodities, energy, healthcare, industrials, international stocks, emerging markets, and other inflation-sensitive investments.

AI valuations are soaring, semiconductor stocks are surging again, and investors are asking the inevitable question: How much longer can this bull market run? In this episode of Payne Points of Wealth, Bob, Ryan, and Chris compare today’s AI-driven rally with the late-1990s tech boom. They examine the risks behind massive AI spending, lofty valuations, increasing corporate debt, and rising global interest rates—while explaining why strong economic growth and record earnings could continue driving stocks higher. The Paynes also discuss why chasing the hottest investments can backfire, how market leadership is expanding beyond the Magnificent Seven, and where opportunities may be hiding in international stocks, emerging markets, value companies, commodities, and energy infrastructure. Plus, they explore signs of a shifting real estate market and how the enormous wealth of retiring baby boomers could support consumer spending for years to come.

Is the market falling apart—or is money simply rotating? In this episode of Payne Points of Wealth, Bob, Ryan, Chris, and Courtney explain why semiconductor stocks and the Magnificent Seven are struggling while energy, commodities, value stocks, REITs, international stocks, and emerging markets continue to perform. The team discusses why diversification is winning in 2026, whether Wall Street’s AI earnings expectations have become too optimistic, and why the biggest long-term AI winners may be companies outside the technology sector. They also examine: • Whether the Federal Reserve could raise interest rates • How oil prices, tariffs, and reshoring could affect inflation • Why companies are rehiring workers after AI-related layoffs • How baby boomer wealth is supporting consumer spending and housing • Where investors may find growth beyond the Magnificent Seven The key takeaway: money is not necessarily leaving the market. It may be rotating into overlooked sectors and asset classes—and investors who stay diversified could be better positioned for what comes next.

The AI trade just suffered a major semiconductor sell-off—but is this the beginning of the end, or a buying opportunity inside a long-term bull market? In this episode of Payne Points of Wealth with Brooks Cutright, Portfolio Manager at Hedgeye Asset Management, we uncover the hidden forces driving Nvidia, Apple, Microsoft, Micron, SanDisk and other major technology stocks. The recent volatility may have less to do with collapsing AI demand and more to do with index rebalancing, ETF flows, and hedge funds positioning around hundreds of billions of dollars in predictable trades. But the bigger question is impossible to ignore: Will the trillions being spent on artificial intelligence ever pay for themselves? Big Tech companies are pouring massive amounts of capital into AI chips, data centers and computing infrastructure—even as questions grow about adoption, monetization and return on investment. If computing power becomes a low-margin commodity, today’s biggest AI spenders may not become tomorrow’s biggest winners. In this episode: • What really caused the semiconductor stock sell-off • How index rebalancing forces funds to sell mega-cap tech • How hedge funds profit from predictable market flows • Whether Nvidia and the AI trade are entering bubble territory • Why hyperscalers may struggle to monetize AI spending • The “picks and shovels” companies making money from the AI arms race • Why private credit could be hiding the market’s biggest leverage risk • How to find companies before they enter the S&P 500 • Why power producers and infrastructure stocks may offer a better AI opportunity than semiconductor stocks The ultimate AI winners may not be the companies spending the most money. They may be the businesses using AI to lower costs, improve productivity and expand profit margins. If you’ve saved more than $1 million for retirement, Payne Capital Management will run a complimentary Total Financial Master Plan covering your investments, retirement income, diversification, fees and tax strategy.

The headlines say one thing. The market is saying something very different. In this episode of *Payne Points of Wealth*, Bob, Ryan, Chris, and Courtney break down why investors may be missing some of the strongest opportunities in the market right now. While everyone is focused on AI, crypto, and the latest scary headlines, major gains are quietly happening in sectors and companies hiding in plain sight. From Johnson & Johnson’s surprising 12-month rally to strength in small caps, energy, commodities, financials, health care, European markets, and transportation stocks, the team explains why this bull market may be broader than most investors realize. They also discuss why consumer spending remains strong despite negative sentiment, how falling oil prices could act like a tax cut, why money market investors may be waiting too long, and how the AI boom is spreading far beyond Big Tech into energy, materials, infrastructure, and finance. If your portfolio is sitting in cash or overly concentrated in the headline names, this conversation is a reminder: some of the best-performing investments are often the ones nobody is talking about. Topics covered: Why the market keeps hitting record highs despite bad news The gap between consumer sentiment and consumer spending High-performing sectors hiding outside the AI trade Johnson & Johnson, small caps, transports, and dividend stocks Why money markets may become a trap if rates fall How AI is benefiting energy, materials, financials, and infrastructure Why the broader U.S. economy may be stronger than the headlines suggest

When we sat down with Paul Andre Huet, CEO of America’s Gold and Silver, for our latest Payne Points of Wealth episode, one theme became clear: The demand story for silver is evolving and expanding. Let’s break it down in simple terms. 1. Electrification of the Economy Silver is one of the best electrical conductors in the world. That makes it critical for: electric vehicles charging infrastructure transmission systems As more of the global economy moves from fossil fuels to electricity, the need for efficient conductive materials rises, and silver plays a central role. 2. Electronics & Connectivity Virtually every modern electronic device contains silver: smartphones laptops semiconductors circuit boards As the world becomes more connected, the baseline demand here isn’t shrinking, it’s steadily expanding. 3. Solar Energy Solar panels use silver in their photovoltaic cells. Every installation: from residential rooftops to utility-scale solar farms requires it. As countries continue: reducing carbon emissions investing in renewable energy building out grid capacity Silver demand increases alongside that transition. 4. Automotive (Beyond EVs) Even traditional vehicles rely on silver in: electronics safety systems sensors Modern cars, especially higher-end models are increasingly electronic systems on wheels. The Supply Reality While use cases are expanding, supply isn’t as flexible. Many silver mines don’t produce silver as their primary output Production is often tied to other metals like copper or lead Opening new mines takes years, often a decade or more This creates a dynamic where: demand can rise quickly supply responds slowly That imbalance tends to matter over time. Where Investors Often Get It Wrong Investors tend to focus on what’s obvious. Today, that means: The Magnificent Seven: Apple, Microsoft, Nvidia, Alphabet, Amazon, Meta and Tesla Widely discussed semiconductor stocks Big IPOs like SpaceX, OpenAI & Anthropic But in markets, leadership rotates. Yesterday’s winners aren’t usually tomorrow’s leaders. Most of the best opportunities don’t come from chasing what’s already worked, but where the underlying drivers are changing. Silver may be one of those areas. Not because of a single headline. But because of a broad, overlapping set of use cases that continue to grow. A Financial Planning Perspective Now, this is where discipline becomes important. A compelling story does not automatically mean it should be in a portfolio. When we think about building a portfolio, we’re NOT asking: “Is this interesting?” We’re asking: Do I have all my bases covered when building a diversified allocation? If commodities like silver rise, does my portfolio benefit? How can owning different asset classes in my portfolio reduce volatility? Does my portfolio align with my long-term financial goals? Because a stand-alone commodity like silver can: be cyclical experience sharp price swings move on sentiment as much as fundamentals Instead, owing a diversified basket of commodities that includes silver, can potentially lower overall portfolio risk, not increase it The Bigger Takeaway One of the most valuable insights from our conversation wasn’t about predicting silver prices. It was about something more fundamental: where demand is quietly growing in the real economy. We’re seeing: more electrification more energy transformation more connectivity more industrial complexity And silver sits at the intersection of all of it. Final Thought Over the long term, markets rarely reward investors for buying what’s hot today, they reward allocating capital to sectors and asset classes before they become widely popular among investors. Right now, silver is becoming more embedded in how the world operates: how we produce energy how we move how we communicate how we build That doesn’t mean it’s definitely going higher. And it doesn’t replace the need for a diversified, disciplined plan. But it does mean it’s worth paying attention to. If you haven’t yet, we encourage you to listen to Episode 245 of Payne Points of Wealth, it’s a great discussion on how evolving real-world demand, operational execution, and long-term investing intersect.

Everyone is talking about artificial intelligence right now. But almost no one is asking the most important question: Where is all the power going to come from? AI data centers are incredibly energy-intensive. The infrastructure being built to support this technology is going to require massive, reliable, and uninterrupted electricity. And that brings us to a surprising conclusion… Nuclear energy is quietly becoming one of the most important investment themes of the next decade. Over the last few weeks, we had the chance to sit down with James Walker, CEO of Nano Nuclear Energy (NASDAQ: NNE), and one thing became very clear: The nuclear story isn’t just about AI. It’s much bigger than that. In fact, the original opportunity had nothing to do with AI at all. It started with a simple observation: Money was flowing out of wind and solar, but global demand for power kept rising. Before AI, before data centers, before the hype—there was already a massive gap forming between energy supply and real-world demand. And nuclear sits in a unique position. It produces enormous amounts of power, runs for years without interruption, and, despite popular belief, has one of the best safety records of any energy source on a “deaths per unit of energy” basis. That’s not an opinion, that’s just math. But here’s where it gets interesting from an investment standpoint. Most people think about nuclear as these massive, one-off power plants that take a decade to build. That’s the old model. The new model looks very different. Instead of one giant reactor, companies like Nano Nuclear are focused on small, modular reactors, essentially portable power plants that can be deployed almost anywhere. And that changes everything. Because now the opportunity isn’t just powering large cities or feeding into traditional power grids. It’s about going places where energy has never been reliable or cost-effective before. Think: Remote communities in Canada or Africa running on expensive diesel Island economies in Southeast Asia importing fuel daily Industrial sites without access to consistent power Data centers that can’t afford downtime These are markets measured in gigawatts of unmet demand. And the economics are compelling. Diesel is not only expensive, it’s unreliable. Fuel has to be shipped in constantly, and disruptions are common. A small nuclear system, on the other hand, can run for years once installed. This doesn’t just lower costs—it creates something far more valuable: Energy independence. From a financial planning perspective, this is where the story connects directly to your portfolio. We are entering a period where global infrastructure is being rebuilt in real time. Electrification is accelerating AI is increasing demand exponentially Emerging markets are still underpowered That combination creates long-duration investment opportunities. But it also creates risk. Because these types of businesses don’t follow traditional timelines. They require: Large upfront capital Long development cycles Regulatory approvals before revenue scales Which means the path won’t be linear. This is why we always come back to the same principle: You don’t bet the farm on a single idea (aka a single stock), but you don’t ignore transformational trends either. Nuclear falls squarely into that category. It’s not a short-term trade. It’s a potential secular tailwind that could play out over decades. Another key insight that came out of our conversation: The biggest opportunity may not even be AI. It may be emerging markets. There are hundreds of millions of people globally who still lack access to reliable energy. Without power, there is no productivity. Without productivity, there is no economic growth. Nuclear—specifically smaller, scalable systems—has the potential to unlock that trapped economic capacity. And when that happens, entire regions move up the economic ladder. So what does this mean for investors today? It means you should start thinking differently about where future growth will come from. The next decade won’t just be about semiconductors and compute. It will also be about the hard assets that make the AI revolution possible: Energy Commodities Infrastructure Emerging Markets These are all themes we hold in our current investment models. The bottom line is simple. We are at the early stages of an energy transformation that most investors are underestimating. Nuclear is no longer just a legacy power source. It’s becoming a solution to some of the biggest constraints in the global economy. And whether it’s AI, industrial demand, or emerging markets… All of it comes back to one thing: power.

There’s a massive story unfolding right now that almost nobody is talking about, and it has nothing to do with AI stocks, semiconductors, or the Magnificent 7. It’s about the raw materials underneath everything. In our latest episode of Payne Points of Wealth, I sat down with Gary Evans, CEO of United States Antimony Corporation (NYSE: UAMY) and what he laid out feels like a throwback to the early days of the shale revolution… but this time, it’s critical minerals. And the numbers are almost hard to believe. Gary walks through how his company acquired a tungsten asset for roughly $5 million… that today could be worth over $9 billion based on current resource estimates and pricing. That’s not a typo. What makes the story even more compelling isn’t just the valuation, it’s the timeline. This isn’t a “maybe in 10 years” type of project. He believes it could be generating cash flow within the next 12–18 months. At a time when investors are focused almost exclusively on AI, this is a reminder that there’s an entire layer of the global economy that actually enables that growth. Because without critical minerals like antimony and tungsten… AI infrastructure doesn’t get built. The Bigger Story: A Supply Chain Reset Right now, China dominates roughly 90% of the world’s refining capacity for critical minerals. That’s not just an economic issue; it’s a national security issue. And the U.S. government knows it. Gary’s company recently secured a $240 million government contract and is rapidly expanding its domestic refining capabilities in Montana. The goal? Rebuild supply chains that have been hollowed out for decades. What’s striking is the speed. The U.S. mining industry has been dormant for 20–30 years, and yet companies like Gary’s are trying to compress what historically took decades into just a couple of years. By 2027–2028, he believes his company alone could supply up to 50% of the U.S. antimony market. If that happens, it will represent a dramatic shift away from foreign dependence and a massive tailwind for the companies positioned correctly. Not Just a Mining Story One of the most interesting parts of our conversation was how technology is starting to reshape even the most “old economy” industries. Gary is now using AI to analyze decades worth of geological data—compressing what used to take years of exploration into a matter of weeks. Think about that for a second. AI isn’t just driving the companies at the top of the market, it’s unlocking value in industries most investors have completely ignored. And in Gary’s words, it’s turning assets that are effectively worth zero on the balance sheet into something potentially worth millions. What This Means for Investors We spend a lot of time talking about diversification, and moments like this are a great reminder of what that really means. It’s not just owning more stocks. It’s understanding where the next wave of opportunity might come from and more importantly, where the market isn’t looking right now. Because while everyone is focused on the software layer of the economy… There is an entire hard asset, supply chain, and industrial renaissance happening underneath the surface. And it’s moving fast. If you want to better understand one of the most overlooked opportunities in today’s market—and how it connects to everything from national security to AI infrastructure, I highly recommend listening to this conversation.

What does it really take to rise from humble beginnings to representing some of the wealthiest buyers and sellers in the world? In Episode 242 of Payne Points of Wealth, Ryan and Chris sit down with Noble Black, one of the nation’s top real estate professionals as recognized by The Wall Street Journal, to unpack his journey from small-town Mississippi to dominating New York City’s ultra-luxury real estate market. Noble shares: How his upbringing shaped his perspective on money, success, and happiness The bold career pivot from corporate law to high-stakes real estate What truly separates top performers in a brutally competitive industry The psychology of working with ultra-high-net-worth clients Why listening—not selling—is the ultimate competitive advantage The truth about NYC real estate vs. the media narrative The hidden forces driving prices higher (despite rising rates) How politics, taxes, and supply shortages could shape the future of the market Plus, Noble pulls back the curtain on: The surprising habits of billionaires What luxury buyers actually value (hint: not always what you think) Why reality TV has distorted the real estate profession This is a masterclass in sales, strategy, and understanding human behavior at the highest levels.

In Episode 241 of Payne Points of Wealth, Ryan, Chris, and Bob Payne sit down with Ashley Davis, partner at S‑3 Group and former White House insider, to unpack a remarkable career at the highest levels of government. Ashley shares how she went from a young staffer to employee #1 of the White House Office of Homeland Security in the wake of 9/11, offering a firsthand account of that pivotal day, the chaos that followed, and the creation of one of the most important agencies in modern U.S. history. From the inner workings of the West Wing to today’s political climate, Ashley delivers candid insights on leadership, policy, polarization, and what it really takes to navigate Washington. This is a powerful conversation about resilience, decision-making under pressure, and the lessons that still apply far beyond politics.